Sahi Dhande Galat Bande , like its title, has its heart at the sahi place but the execution, though certainly notgalat , could have been much more gripping and entertaining.
Rajbir (Parvin Dabas), Sexy (Vansh Bhardwaj), Ambani (Ashish Nair) and Doctor (Kuldeep Ruhil) are a gang of four friends who work for the local don, Fauji (Sharat Saxena). Farmers from the same village are protesting against the forcible land acquisition by the hands of Chief Minister (Kiran Joneja Sippy) so that a factory can be set up for industrialist Agarwal (Anupam Kher).
When the CM unofficially commissions Fauji to stop the villagers from protesting further, Fauji asks Rajbir to take control of the situation. But Rajbir who is in favour of the villagers has some different plans.
While Parvin Dabas opts for a done-to-death theme of 'farmers-struggling-to-save-their-lands' for his directorial debut, what makes the film different is that it doesn't directly focus on the peasant-protest per se. Rather, the protagonist Rajbir finds witty ways to betray his boss or bend the people in power. From double-crossing his boss to kidnapping the CM's son, he does everything possible to save his villagers and their land.
But while the alternative therapy in the narrative works well for a major part of the runtime, the climax succumbs to the cliched call-for-revolution by the farmers. Add to it, with the media intervention, the film opts for the most convenient end.
The film starts off on a slow note and takes it time to build up but the pace keeps falling every now and then. While the story isn't much predictable, you also can't figure out where exactly is the narrative heading, leaving you clueless at times. Parvin Dabas ably takes the lead though the other three supporting male leads have half-baked characterizations without any fleshed-out backgrounds and do not contribute much as individual entities.
Although the film ideally comes across as a comedy, it lacks the requisite dose of humour, despite having the potential. With languid dialogues and some flaccid scenes, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. The screenplay does boast of some sporadic sparkling moments like when the quartet negotiate with a victim for cutting off his limb or when their hostage escapes. Also, the gang's face-off with a rival gang results into amusing outcome. But beyond that the film could have been much funnier, faster and crisper.
Cinematographer Anshul Chobey shows a different picture of North India beyond the sarso-ke-khet , which is rough-and-rugged. But the grainy and burnt-bronze print gets disturbing rather than having an effect. Siddharth-Suhas and Dhruv Dhalla's musical score, thankfully restricted to the background, makes up for the flatness is several scenes (esp. the chase sequences) with its racy-n-rocking Punjabi flavour. But the stylized slow-motion action shots in the climax seem too contrived and needlessly push the film in Salman Khan zone.
Parvin Dabas is confident and compelling in a role tailor-made for him by him. The other three male leads remain underused. Ashish Nair comes across as a cheaper version of Suresh Menon. Vansh Bhardwaj(last seen in Preity Zinta starrer Heaven on Earth ) and Kuldeep Ruhil are average.
Parvin Dabas is a sahi banda , and we won't say, turning towards direction in galat dhanda for him by any means. He makes an honest attempt at making a decent entertainer. Finesse will follow next time.
Rajbir (Parvin Dabas), Sexy (Vansh Bhardwaj), Ambani (Ashish Nair) and Doctor (Kuldeep Ruhil) are a gang of four friends who work for the local don, Fauji (Sharat Saxena). Farmers from the same village are protesting against the forcible land acquisition by the hands of Chief Minister (Kiran Joneja Sippy) so that a factory can be set up for industrialist Agarwal (Anupam Kher).
When the CM unofficially commissions Fauji to stop the villagers from protesting further, Fauji asks Rajbir to take control of the situation. But Rajbir who is in favour of the villagers has some different plans.
While Parvin Dabas opts for a done-to-death theme of 'farmers-struggling-to-save-their-lands' for his directorial debut, what makes the film different is that it doesn't directly focus on the peasant-protest per se. Rather, the protagonist Rajbir finds witty ways to betray his boss or bend the people in power. From double-crossing his boss to kidnapping the CM's son, he does everything possible to save his villagers and their land.
But while the alternative therapy in the narrative works well for a major part of the runtime, the climax succumbs to the cliched call-for-revolution by the farmers. Add to it, with the media intervention, the film opts for the most convenient end.
The film starts off on a slow note and takes it time to build up but the pace keeps falling every now and then. While the story isn't much predictable, you also can't figure out where exactly is the narrative heading, leaving you clueless at times. Parvin Dabas ably takes the lead though the other three supporting male leads have half-baked characterizations without any fleshed-out backgrounds and do not contribute much as individual entities.
Although the film ideally comes across as a comedy, it lacks the requisite dose of humour, despite having the potential. With languid dialogues and some flaccid scenes, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. The screenplay does boast of some sporadic sparkling moments like when the quartet negotiate with a victim for cutting off his limb or when their hostage escapes. Also, the gang's face-off with a rival gang results into amusing outcome. But beyond that the film could have been much funnier, faster and crisper.
Cinematographer Anshul Chobey shows a different picture of North India beyond the sarso-ke-khet , which is rough-and-rugged. But the grainy and burnt-bronze print gets disturbing rather than having an effect. Siddharth-Suhas and Dhruv Dhalla's musical score, thankfully restricted to the background, makes up for the flatness is several scenes (esp. the chase sequences) with its racy-n-rocking Punjabi flavour. But the stylized slow-motion action shots in the climax seem too contrived and needlessly push the film in Salman Khan zone.
Parvin Dabas is confident and compelling in a role tailor-made for him by him. The other three male leads remain underused. Ashish Nair comes across as a cheaper version of Suresh Menon. Vansh Bhardwaj(last seen in Preity Zinta starrer Heaven on Earth ) and Kuldeep Ruhil are average.
Parvin Dabas is a sahi banda , and we won't say, turning towards direction in galat dhanda for him by any means. He makes an honest attempt at making a decent entertainer. Finesse will follow next time.
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